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Why Householder Acharyas?

Many schools of worship that have defected from the original Swaminarayan Sampraday (original sampraday = currently headed by the lineage of  spiritual Acharyas descending from Ayodhyaprasadji Maharaj and Raghuvirji Maharaj) believe that saints should be and have them as their Acharyas. Well this is not true nor right for a few reasons:

1) Firstly, it is Lord Swaminarayan's instructions and orders in the 'Desh Vibhagh no Lekh' and noted in all other main Swaminarayan Sampraday scriptures that the Acharya of the Swaminarayan Sampraday be appointed only from His father's family i.e. 'Dharmakul'. So really this on its own should be enough for the Swaminarayan devotees! 

2) But since we have a tendency not to accept things to suit our needs, there is a very obvious and logical reason as to why Lord Swaminarayan appointed householder Acharyas AND WHY SPECIFICALLY FROM HIS FAMILY:

a) The idea of appointing householder Acharyas is not a concept brought about just a few hundreds of years ago. It is a concept well authenticated in scriptures such as Yagnavalkya Smriti written thousands and thousands of years ago. Anyway, when Ramanand Swami met Dharmadev and Bhaktimata (parents of Lord Swaminarayan), Ramanand Swami asked Dharmadev and Bhaktimata to pass the initiation 'mantra' to all the devotees earnest for their libeeration, i.e. Dharmadev to the males and Bhaktimata to the females. Very obviously, Ramanand Swami was a saint and so giving the initiation mantra to ladies would be to break the rules of being a saint. And so the mantra which was given to Bhaktimata through Dharmadev was then passed on to lady devotees. This was before Lord Swaminarayan was born and before the Acharyaship was established.

b) When an initiation mantra is given to a devotee or a saint, then only does he/she qualify to be a Swaminarayan devotee and his or her bhakti becomes authenticated to earn liberation. In other words IT IS very important that we get this mantra. Well obviously lady devotees would also like to go to Akshardham and serve Lord Swaminarayan, right??? Let's hope so. Well ok, so who is going to give them the mantra if a saint is to be the Acharya?? ...because a Swaminarayan saint is not supposed to communicate or even look at female devotees. It is for this very reason that Lord Swaminarayan appointed the Acharyas' wives as the gurus of the female devotees and made them responsible to pass on the mantra to the female devotees.

c) A logical and scientific reason given in the scriptures - When the Acharya gives the initiation mantra to a devotee, the devotee is given a new birth by the Guru. And we all know birth can only be brought about from the union of a male and a female. In our case this refers to the Acharya and His wife, refered to as the 'Gadhiwala'. Also by the way, when initiation is given all the sins of the devotee are taken away by the Acharya or the Gadhiwala. There is a ritual for the latter whereby a Yagna is held and a coconut is offered to Agni dev. And scriptures very clearly state that this can only be done by a couple or else the sacrifice is not accepted by Agni Dev and thus one of the main reasons as to why saints cannot be Acharyas.

d) WE MUST REALIZE THAT THESE HOUSEHOLDER ACHARYAS ARE NOT JUST ORDINARY HOUSEHOLDERS - THEY WERE APPOINTED AS ACHARYAS BY LORD SWAMINARAYAN FROM HIS OWN FATHER'S FAMILY (LORD'S NEPHEWS ) AND HE ADOPTED THEM AND THEIR LINEAGE (ACHARYAS' LINEAGE) AS HIS OWN SONS. SO THE LINEAGE OF ACHARYAS THAT MANY PEOPLE HAVE CHOSEN TO IGNORE AND DISRESPECT ARE THE GOD PERSONIFIED , SONS OF LORD SWAMINARAYAN, SEATED ON THE THRONE BY LORD SWAMINARAYAN HIMSELF AND THEIR CONTINUING LINEAGE IS ALSO TAKEN CARE BY LORD SWAMINARAYAN TO PROTECT HIS SAMPRADAY!  So make no mistake, the argument is not about ORDINARY householders becoming Acharyas of the Swaminarayan Sampraday. The Dharmakul Acharyas are divine souls very close to Lord Swaminarayan and that is why their respect is commanded by ALL the devotees/saints of the Swaminarayan Sampraday. Accordingly Acharyas are very respectful and kind to their devotees and saints because of their divine nature and instructions by Lord Swaminarayan.

e) Lord Swaminarayan has instructed His followers in the Shikshapatri to worship only those images of God that have been installed by the Acharyas from the family of His father (Dharmakul Acharyas). So specifically the biggest task of inviting God in to the idols is reserved for the household Acharyas and their lineage appointed by Lord Swaminarayan

f) Lord Swaminarayan as per His instructions in the Shikshapatri prohibits saints from indulging in worldly affairs such as management of the entire Sampraday and also coming into contact with women. For this reason the HouseHolder Acharyas are best suited because they are able to engage in management affairs and their  respective wives, whom Lord Swaminarayan appointed as the Gurus/Spiritual leaders for the women, can deal with the spiritual matters for women such as initiation and guidance. If Renounced Saints are appointed as Acharyas , who gives the initiation to the women??? What happens to their salvation? And no ordinary man or woman can give such initiations, only the Acharyas and their respective wives can, as per Lord Swaminarayan's instructions in the Shikshapatri, Desh Vibhag no lekh and Satsangi Jeevan  

g) Lord Swaminarayan wouldn't write rules of conduct in the Shikshapatri for the Acharyas and also specifically for their respective wives, the GadhiWala, if He didn't think they had the most important place in the Sampraday as the spiritual leaders of the devotees, including saints!; to give initiation to devotees plus saints and for the Acharyas especially to install idols in the temples (the only idols which Swaminarayan devotees are supposed to worship- ref: Shikshapatri)

The initiation mantra can not be passed to masses of people made up of males and females. It has to be secretly given in the ear of the devotee. Only the Acharyas' wives can do this to the females. Saints would not be able to do this because of the rules that bind them in the Shikshapatri laid down by Lord Swaminarayan Himself.